


Death Versus Chaos

by willow_larkspur



Series: Connection [11]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Airport Battle Change, Alternate Universe - Always a Different Sex, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Civil War Team Iron Man, Desi Harry Potter, Female Harry Potter, Gen, Iron Zucchinis, Magical restraints, Master of Death Harry Potter, Not Natasha Romanoff Friendly, Not Steve Rogers Friendly, Removal of Magic, Tony Stark Needs a Hug, actions have consequences, not team Cap friendly, not wanda maximoff friendly
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-19
Updated: 2021-03-19
Packaged: 2021-03-28 02:22:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,969
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30132540
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/willow_larkspur/pseuds/willow_larkspur
Summary: Fulfilling her duties as Master of Death, Harini steps in between the Avengers and the rogues. It was time for a certain would-be witch to face the consequences of becoming a Nazi.
Relationships: Tony Stark & Avengers Team, Tony Stark & James "Rhodey" Rhodes
Series: Connection [11]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/976398
Comments: 15
Kudos: 316
Collections: MC4A Year 4





	Death Versus Chaos

**Author's Note:**

> Legal Disclaimer: I own my stuff, but not the original source material. That belongs to whoever. Also, the opinions and interpretations I use here may not reflect the same in said whoever that owns the source material. Look, I’m just a poor college librarian. Suing me isn’t going to get you anything but tears.  
> Warning: This work may be offensive to some readers. There are also frank discussions of canon misbehavior, including violations of autonomy & violence. Feel free to back out if need be.  
> Author’s Note: So I’m still mad about the lack of consequences for certain terrorists in the MCU. You should know now that this fic is not friendly towards any of the Rogues. If you feel the need to defend any of the Rogues but especially the Nazi witch, this is not the fic for you. You are free to leave without saying anything.

(^^)  
 **Death Versus Chaos**  
(^^)

The two groups converged on the tarmac near the southeast portion of the terminal. They were two lines of enhanced and powered people marching up to each other like they were going to rumble over territory. A small part of Tony's lightning fast thoughts was playing the soundtrack from _West Side Story_ due to the ridiculous similarities between current events and the blocking from the movie.

Tony would have laughed at the image if the situation wasn't already so dire. The Secretary of State might not be able to issue death warrants in an official capacity, but Ross still had enough sycophants in places that made his threat a real one. Not to mention that prisoners who were of interest to Ross had a tendency to disappear in transit, and everyone knew how obsessed old Thunderbolt was with the super soldier serum. If Ross green-lighted a mission to take down Rogers et al, then there was a very real chance that the rest of the Avengers would never see them again regardless of their health status.

As he was doing a head count of the Avengers who had gone rogue (and idly wondering where Sam was hiding), Tony registered that Clint was among the other group, just as Vision had suggested when he had managed to crawl out of the hole that Maximoff had made with his body. Why the fuck would the archer come here? He had _retired_. He had gotten out of this mess. He was living the ultimate HEA out in the middle of nowhere, Missouri. There were the little agents and Laura to consider. Convincing Wanda to leave when she would have been much safer waiting things out at the compound was one thing, but this was much worse.

The timer that Tony had Friday running clicked over the twenty-four hour mark with a small ting.

"Wow, it's so weird how you run into people at the airport," Tony said after he flipped his helmet back to better see the ensemble before him. He addressed his question at Rhodey, trusting that his platypus would play along. If Vision had a little more of JARVIS in him, Tony would have included him in the game, too. "Don't you think that's weird?"

"Definitely weird," Rhodey agreed, with just the tiniest note of frustration in his voice. He had never really been a fan of the good captain, and meeting the man hadn't improved that opinion. This whole debacle wasn't netting any points with him.

Vision was practically radiating unease with everything. For all that the synthezoid had the appearance and mannerisms of an adult human, there were times when his extreme youth became obvious. He was only a little over a year old, after all. Sometimes, observing the messiness that was humanity was all he could do. As it was, Vision appeared conflicted about being near Wanda so soon after she thoroughly murdered whatever relationship dynamic the two had been building out of their mutual connection to the Mind Stone.

Steve opened his mouth to make his own reply but ended up only moving his lips without any sound. His righteous indignation was still obvious, even without a soundtrack. Friday beeped the tone set as a warning that a strange energy was in the area at the same time that Tony felt a resistance settle over the suit. It looked as if both groups were now locked in place, unable to move more than shifting in place.

"Speaking of things that are weird," Tony muttered at a volume that easily carried over the two groups. He tried to shift a bit, just to test the resistance. "Okay. I'm actually impressed. Mark this day down. I am actually impressed that someone manage to freeze a bunch of superheroes in place. Good job."

"Not to mention stopping Steve Rogers before he could go on one of his righteous speeches," Rhodey added. "Don't forget that part. It's a very important part."

"Yes, dear," Tony agreed loyally. He could see tendrils of red energy pooling around Wanda as she fought the hold on her. "Oh, that's gonna be messy in a minute."

"Very true," a new voice said. Tony turned his head just enough to see someone had walked up to the group. The woman looked like she was Indian or maybe Pakistani. Her clothes were definitely the same style as the Punjab region, at least, even if the ash gray was an odd color choice for salwar kameez sets. A charcoal kashmiri was wrapped securely around her shoulders. Her black hair had been pulled into one thick braid that reached her waist even when draped over one shoulder. Her eyes were glowing emerald as she flicked her gaze over the group before settling on Wanda. "You really should stop fighting the hold, Maximoff. As Dr. Stark said, it will get _messy_ if you keep on like that."

Wanda opened her mouth, clearly intending to respond with something that was likely to be cutting and cruel. Whatever had silenced Cap must also be working on her, because no sound came out. Like a child being denied a treat, she threw her head back and unleashed a silent wail. Red light flickered around her mouth and eyes as she tried to break free.

The newcomer watched the fit with an unimpressed look on her face.

"I suddenly understand why Captain Imperialism calls you a _kid_ ," she commented with that dryness that only British people could truly pull off. Tony bit back a laugh as Steve's face went through an entire series of disapproving looks. The woman moved her hands through a series of motions. When her hands stilled again, all traces of red had disappeared despite how Wanda was now glaring at the woman. "That is better. No need to splatter Nazi scum all over this nice place."

"Not to complain or anything," Tony said into the beat of quiet that followed. The woman looked at him, thankfully less glowy than she had been just a moment ago. Tony had developed a bit of a tic when it came to glowy women. "Really. I'm not complaining here, but who are you and why are you here? More importantly, how are you doing all of this?"

"My name is Harini," the woman answered. Amusement was clear in both her voice and her body language. "I am here because I'm done letting the little Hydra bitch run around destroying things." Harini gave the same kind of barely noticeable smile that Yinsen had had. The reminder made Tony's battered heart ache. "As to the _how_ , the answer is simple: _magic_."

"Thanks," Tony quipped, "I hate it."

"I thought you might, Dr. Stark," Harini said. Her green eyes looked past Tony to one of the people he had gathered to round up Steve and his group. She wiggled her fingers in that direction. "Hello, Widow. Funny meeting you here, not to mention on that side of this conflict. I would have imagined that you'd have scurried off to some protective burrow after taking down your former employers." She hummed thoughtfully as she glanced at Tony. "Well, I guess you did, didn't you?"

"I did what I had to do," Natasha said in that same unapologetic tone she used to defend all manner of questionable deeds. It had never mattered whether it was putting an innocent paralegal in the hospital with a drug or endangering countless agents and innocent people who had no allegiance to Hydra. Tony had even found a video from shortly after her attempted honeypot when she had been debriefed over a mission (involving scavenged parts of Stark Tech, not that they called him in) that had gotten unexpectedly focused on her personally. Natasha had used the same phrase to describe burning down the base of a slave ring without making sure that there wasn't any _inventory_ still inside.

Harini looked like she liked that philosophy as much as Pepper had the one time the two women had actually been in each other's presence after the Expo. Tony shifted within his suit, suddenly more nervous than he had been then. The sudden smile on Harini's face was scarily similar to the sweet one that Pepper sported right as she backed a board of directors into a corner.

"You keep saying that," Harini returned. "Does it comfort you as you continue to take what isn't yours, Widow? You are lucky that I am not here for you. Not today at least." Her emerald eyes moved over Tony's allies. "Did you even tell the crown prince about the good doctor's death? How little Friday uncovered the recording of what triggered the Soldier?" She clicked her tongue at whatever Natasha's face must have held. "Such a naughty spider. Keeping secrets. Maybe the Soldier will be more forthcoming." Her face was sympathetic as she focused on Rogers' rogue heroes, particularly Bucky Barnes. Her voice was gentle as she continued. "Soldier, mission report, December 16, 1991."

"I don't—" Barnes tried, only to cut himself off with a click of teeth so loud that it was still audible despite the distance between them. He looked like he was breaking. Dread pooled in Tony's stomach as his pale blue eyes landed on Tony briefly before focusing back on Harini. The righteous fury growing on Steve's face didn't do anything to stop that dread. "I don't want to."

"I know," Harini assured. She moved closer to him, graceful enough that Tony would have labeled her a Widow herself. She had to stand on tiptoe to do it, but she cupped her hands against his cheeks. "I know it's hard, but their son deserves to know, and it has remained a secret for far too long already."

And then she stepped back. With his shoulders back and a thousand yard stare, Barnes turned toward Tony, suddenly free when none of them other than Harini had been. Steve looked like it was suddenly vital that he put himself between his best friend and Tony. Natasha made a sound like she had been about to say something but had been silenced just like the other rogues.

"On December 16, 1991," Barnes stated in a voice as dead as his expression, "I was dispatched to retrieve cargo being transported in the trunk of the creator's personal vehicle. I was ordered to take it while in transit. Any witnesses were to be eliminated." Barnes' attempt at flatness broke right as Tony connected the data points. "I didn't recognize Howard at the time. I didn't, and I am so sorry. I can never make up all the lives I took under Hydra's control, but he was a friend once."

"I…" Tony licked his lips. He honestly didn't know what to say to that. He had found scrapes on the Winter Soldier in the years since the Info Dump fiasco. It wasn't much but it was certainly enough to know that Barnes was the longest PoW and any choices he might have had in captivity would have been shitty. That had been the whole reason that the first person called to talk to him had been a shrink. The dread in Tony's gut turned to ice as an idea washed over him. His gaze locked on the still struggling super soldier. "Did you… Steve, did you know this?"

"I didn't know it was him," Steve managed to say. The lie was blatantly obvious despite being so simple. Tony vibrated with his growing rage. Howard had been an asshole, an absolute bastard and a shitty father beside, but he had worshiped Steve Rogers. He had spent decades searching for him and had arranged for the search to continue even after he was gone.

"Don't bullshit me, Rogers," Tony growled, his lightning fast mind already putting the timeline together of how long Tony had been shunted to the side. All the secret missions and refusals for Tony's assistance looking for Barnes when he could have helped were adding up to an unflattering conclusion. He had obviously learned nothing from Stane's betrayal. And that hurt most of all. "Did you know?"

"Yes," Steve admitted and he sounded so fucking defiant about it. Barnes sounded torn up about betraying a friend, despite having nothing but shitty choices and a whole lot of trauma as a defense. Tony jerked against the magical hold that Harini had on him, actually managing to get his arm halfway through a punch at Steve Rogers' fucking perfect face. "It wasn't him, Tony."

"And that's enough out of you," Harini declared. She waved her hand again. Rogers' lips moved again, but he had been returned to silence. She stepped back up to Barnes. Her knuckles turned a light tan as she gripped his tactical vest to push him into a position kneeling at her feet.

"I… I know you," Barnes whispered. He looked close to tears as he gazed up at the deceptively tiny woman who had begun glowing again. The emerald green tendrils spiraled out from her like steam curling off a fresh cup of coffee on a winter morning. "I know you. …don't I?"

"My dear Soldier, of course you do," she told him. "I am the Master that all warriors serve." She glanced over all of the assembled group, lingering on each for only a moment. "I am the Last Enemy that Shall Be Defeated. I am the Equalizer of All Living Things, and the Final End of Suffering." She ran her fingers through Barnes' long hair the same way that Pepper did Tony's when she was trying to get him to relax. "And my dear Soldier, I would offer you a choice, something you have not had in so very long."

"Anything," Barnes said, and it carried the same weight of a vow. She aimed that gentle smile at him. Tony had the uncomfortable feeling that he was witnessing something very intimate. The green tendrils had spread to wrap around all of them. The smoke-like magic shaped itself like chains around Maximoff and Rogers. Barnes' gaze stayed fixed on Harini, not that Tony could blame him as there _was_ something enthralling about her. "Anything."

"I cannot heal the wounds inflicted upon your soul," Harini said with sorrow echoing in the words. "Only time can do that, and even then, a weapon forged stays that way unless broken." Her brown thumbs stroked over his gaunt cheeks as if wiping away tears that Barnes was not shedding. "What I can do is remove the chains placed upon you. No one would be able to turn you into their puppet with just a few well-ordered words. But it would not be without pain."

"I can handle pain," Barnes assured her. Harini pressed a finger against his lips.

"And you have suffered enough, darling," she told him. Her emerald eyes glinted with power and compassion. "I cannot protect you from future suffering, but I can make your will your own once more. What you do after that will be up to you. You can continue to run away from accountability with your friend—" Her gaze cut away towards Rogers. Tony didn't need to see the expression on her face to know it was scathing. "—or you could choose to begin working towards making amends."

"Yes," Barnes agreed, his tone as reverent as a prayer. "Make it so that I can never be used like that again, and I will do whatever I can to make whatever amends I can." He shifted his focus towards Tony. "I remember them all. There has to be others that no one knows were assassinations or anything other than missing people."

"That…" Tony swallowed hard as the words refused to come. "That would probably be a good start, yeah."

"Excellent," Harini announced. She kissed two of her fingers and pressed them to Barnes' temple. The man's eyes flashed the same green of her magic before his eyes closed and his whole body slumped forward. She used tendrils of emerald magic to gently lie him down on the pavement. "He'll sleep through the affects, though it will not be a restful slumber. He may benefit from monitoring, Dr. Stark. In fact, you both may benefit from monitoring his change. The MRIs will provide useful information."

"Why do you help him?" T'Challa demanded as he struggled against her hold on him. "He killed my father!"

"Unlike the Elder Starks, he was not even the tool that someone used to do so," Harini said softly but no less firmly. Her face held compassion as she took in T'Challa's frantic pants. "Ask the Widow, if she will reveal the truth for once. If not, ask the youngest Stark, because she certainly will." She looked at Tony, meeting his eyes without hesitation. "Your children honor you, Dr. Stark. It is a great tragedy to have outlive so many of them already, when no parent should." She turned her sad smile towards Vision briefly. "Grandchildren can be a blessing as much as a balm, or so I am told."

Suddenly, Harini clapped her hands once, the sound ringing out like thunder. Suddenly, a man in a dark red suit was falling to the ground beside Rogers' feet. He struggled for a bit before lying flat. Harini hummed as if in thought. Then she wagged her finger at Rogers.

"You naughty boy. Not only have you been keeping secrets and flaunting the will of the people you claim to serve, you were planning an underhanded sneak attack like the coward you are."

Rogers' jaw twitched like he was grinding his teeth, but he didn't try to defend himself. Tony couldn't help but wonder if it was because he knew that Harini's spell would keep him silent or because he knew it was true. Tesla forbid that Captain Righteous admit that he he was wrong about anything. Harini gave a twist of her brown fingers that conjured up a bird out of emerald light.

"Find the Captain's pet Falcon," she ordered, "and make him sleep." As the bird flew off, Harini looked over all of them before focusing once more on Wanda. "The other little terrorists I am going to leave for the actual Avengers to deal with, but you?" Harini gave that dangerous smile again. "You fall into a different category."

"Just for the record," Tony interrupted because he had a feeling of what was about to happen and having it explicitly stated may help with the political ramifications that would come up. He did know that Rhodey was probably using his HUD to record everything, which would definitely help as well. "Can you state exactly how she's different and what is about to happen?"

"Wanda Maximoff is not just a telepath with telekinesis as reflected in your records," Harini replied as she folded her brown hands together near her waist. "Everything she is currently, she owes to a spark of magic she was born with. It saved her and her brother from dying in the Nazi experiment that they volunteered for. It saved them when the Sokovian government dropped stolen bombs on their own people. It even saved them both when they were abandoned on the doorstep of an orphanage as infants. It was not enough to actually warrant teaching, of course. Well, not then, at least."

Harini moved around Wanda like a predator circling its prey.

"Normally, someone like her would be turned over her fellow magic users for justice." Harini adopted a stony expression. "There's just a little issue of the breadth of her crimes against humanity. She worked for Hydra for years before she teamed up with the entity commonly known as Ultron." Harini frowned briefly before looking at Tony again. "You really should be more public with how little you actually had to do with that being's creation. You have the proof that he never accessed the Ultron coding. Yet all you've done with that is present it to the ICC. Meanwhile, these cowards run around wrecking havoc without regard for any casualties and decide that they can just disregard anyone demanding accountability and oversight."

"It just didn't seem as much of a priority as handling the Accords did," Tony admitted. Out of habit, he shrugged. It surprised him when she allowed the movement. "The UN ramped up the development of them around the same time that the ICC decided to conclude their investigation. Someone had to point out the loopholes that people like SHIELD and Ross might use for their own agendas." Tony let the shudder run its course before redirecting the conversation to the matter at hand. "What are you going to do if you aren't going to turn her over to other magic users?"

"I'm going to remove her magic," Harini announced. She twirled her fingers around Wanda, making the magical smoke-chains sway and twitch. "And with it, the effect of the Infinity Stone upon her. It will render her useless for anyone with the idea of forgiving and forgetting her crimes in the hope that she will stop being a Nazi for long enough to actually save people regardless of their race or religion. Maybe she'll be willing to cooperate enough to allow Hydra to finally be rooted out of its hiding places." Harini shook her head. "I doubt it, because that would require her admitting that Hydra is wrong. There was a reason that she was happy to work with them even after she had gotten what she wanted from them."

Rogers looked like he was trying to shout again as Harini twirled her fingers again and wisps of red began to rise out Wanda like steam. Tony could imagine what the super soldier would say, because he had spent the last year telling everyone who would listen about how Wanda was just a kid. It didn't seem to matter that Wanda was only a year younger than Rogers if one took out the years he spent on ice. It wasn't even honest to claim that the Maximoff twins had volunteered as children either, because they had been twenty at the time.

They were not innocent lambs who just got a little confused. They were adults who had made the decision to join a terrorist organization. Tony took no pleasure in watching Wanda fight as her magic was removed, even if it was a relief to know that she wouldn't be able to leave anyone else locked in the prison of their own minds.

Arresting them all after Harini had rendered the witch powerless felt a bit anticlimatic. Especially as after she had been assured that the Avengers had their rogue members well in hand, Harini just disappeared as suddenly as she had come, leaving behind only sleeping superheroes cum international criminals as physical proof that she had been there. The trials and incarnations of the Rogues (and of Natasha Romanoff, who had been revealed as aiding the cover up of the Starks' death) gave the Accords a legitimacy that would have been lacking if they had managed to become fugitives long-term.

The intense spotlight that the events focused on the limping remains of SHIELD did not allow them to scurry back into the shadows or continue their Index Protocols under the excuse of the Accords. That meant that the metahuman allies that might have stayed hidden in order to stay off of SHIELD's reach were not alienated. The Avenger Initiative under went a rebranding along with its restructure to ensure that something like what happened under Rogers couldn't happen again. With the metahuman community willing to work with each other under international oversight from the Accords panel, the Sentient World Organization for Research and Defense was born.

When Thanos came for the Infinity Stones on Earth, SWORD was ready.

And Harini, the Master of Death, was waiting.

**Author's Note:**

> Submitting Info:  
> Stacked with: Hogwarts (Term 14); Mc4A (Year 4)  
> Individual Challenges: Long Haul; Zed Era; Metahuman (x5); Magical MC (x2); SHIELD MC (x5); Hydra MC (x3); Military MC (x4); Criminal MC (x5); No School MC; Gryffindor MC; Laws; Old Shoes (Y) (x2); Two Cakes (Y); Eating Cake (Y); Hold the Mayo; Gender Bender; Rian-Russo Inversion (x5); Ethnic & Present (x3); Iron Fam Checklist [Turing Tested]  
> House: Slytherin  
> Assignment No.: Term 14 – Assignment 05  
> Subject (Task No.): Journalism (Task#1: Write about someone being held accountable for their actions.)  
> Other Hogwarts Challenges: Fantastic Beasts [30](Someone losing their temper); 365 Prompts [251](Emerald); Scavenger Hunt [42](Character You Hate); But Can You Spell It? [V](Volume)  
> Other MC4A Challenges: SpB [3C](Acts of Service); TrB [4D](Card-Carrying Villain); Ship (War Zucchinis)[Sp Micro 1](Fusion/Crossover); Hunt [Sp WD](Black Character);   
> Representation(s): Tony Stark/James Rhodes QPR; Desi & Fem Harry Potter; Natasha Romanoff; Wanda Maximoff  
> Primary & Secondary Bonus Challenges: Ladylike; Not a Lamp; Persistence Still; Odd Feathers; Wabi Sabi  
> Tertiary & Generic Bonus Challenges: T3 (Toad)  
> Word Count: 3969 words


End file.
